Aquarius: “To Make a Difference, We Must Be Different!”

“To make a difference, we must be different”. Aquarian Abraham Lincoln said something along those lines – having the willingness to stand out, go against the grain, dance like no-one is watching, and love like it’s never going to hurt. Aquarians seem to have a way of being themselves regardless of what others think of them. And as we enter the mystery of this zodiacal perspective, our work is to release that freedom of expression that flies in the face of social convention and throws a spanner of works of the rules of etiquette and decorum. Yes, free-spirited Aquarius gives us the wings to fly into a future of our own choosing. Yet the goal for Aquarius is an impersonal one. Unlike heart-centred Leo with his proud individualism, the water-bearer pours forth the waters of life for humanity as a whole, as a community as network of interconnected beings. So we remove our own ego from the centre of the play and become “just” another member of the troupe. The trick is to do that without losing our individual expression!

The Aquarian perspective seems to elevate our consciousness to a higher plane and lifts us above the fluctuating contingencies of feelings and passions, to a cooler, more detached realm of ideas and ideals. It puts us in in touch with the humanity that we share in common with one another, and by adopting this perspective we can begin to glimpse the possibility of how we might live together in a community of shared values and principles.

The sign of the water bearer holds the tension of sameness and difference and can help bring us together as diverse communities. Through accepting that we originate from a common source, it teaches us to release our need to protect only our own clan, as we learn to accept our differences, embrace the myriad expressions of life. It’s rainbow colours remind us that any form of meaningful unity can only ever be achieved through preserving and encouraging its diversity, and allowing that to emerge organically from its grass roots. Indeed this is really the great tension that exists in Aquarius, for it is so much the sign of ideals, and marvellous plans and schemes that seem to work perfectly on paper yet can prove a disaster in practice if they (all too easily) overlook the contingencies inherent in the creative unfolding of life. On our Aquarius workshop in the past, we have looked at Living Systems Theory, and one of the things that has always really struck a chord with me about that was the life never unfolds just according to the plan, but always with an element of innovation and surprise. The key to evolution, according to Fritjof Capra is not adaptation, as Darwin had it, but creativity. This is so evident in the human beings evolve their understanding, but equally it is a key component of how living systems evolve also.